Acupuncture for Treating Whiplash Associated Disorder: A Systematic Review of Randomised Clinical Trials

Moon, Tae-Woong; Posadzki, Paul; Choi, Tae‐Young; Park, Tae‐Yong; Kim, Hye-Jung; Lee, Myeong Soo; Ernst, Edzard

doi:10.1155/2014/870271

Cited by 13 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Other studies have used acupuncture in various forms, with a recent systematic review of 6 included RCTs concluding that there may be some effects on pain but no effect on disability. 23 The results of our study are somewhat similar: we found small but significant effects on pain thresholds but not perceived pain and small effects on disability. Additionally, our results indicated that the real dry-needling intervention resulted in small decreases in the psychological measures of pain catastrophizing and posttraumatic stress symptoms, but the clinical relevance of these findings is questionable.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…This is at odds with previous studies of acupuncture-like techniques and exercise interventions where the effects (if present) are mostly observed immediately after the intervention. 23,34 Our data indicate that there was improvement in the primary outcome measures (approximate 10% decrease in NDI-unadjusted outcomes; score of 2.0 on GPE indicating some recovery) from baseline to the immediate 6-week post-intervention assessment www.painjournalonline.com 639 Table 2 Unadjusted outcomes (mean and SD) for each treatment group at 0, 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months. Treatment effects at 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months (mean difference and 95% confidence interval).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…38 Regarding WAD, a recent review concluded that needling modalities may have some effect on pain for this condition, but this was based on a few RCTs of mainly low quality. 23 There is some evidence to suggest that dry-needling, added to other conventional therapies such as exercise, may be more effective than conventional therapies alone in nonspecific low back pain. 9 This combined approach to management has never been investigated in whiplash.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dry-needling and exercise for chronic whiplash-associated disorders

Sterling

Vicenzino

Souvlis

et al. 2015

Pain

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This randomized controlled trial investigated the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of dry-needling and exercise compared with sham dry-needling and exercise for chronic whiplash-associated disorders (WAD). The setting was a single university centre and 4 physiotherapy practices in Queensland, Australia. Eighty patients with chronic WAD (>3 months) were enrolled between June 2009 and August 2012 with 1-year follow-up completed in August 2013. The interventions were 6 weeks of dry-needling to posterior neck muscles (n = 40) and exercise or sham dry-needling and exercise (n = 40). The primary outcomes of the Neck Disability Index (NDI) and self-rated recovery were measured at baseline, 6 and 12 weeks, 6 and 12 months by a blinded assessor. Analysis was intention to treat. An economic evaluation was planned but missing data deemed further analysis unwarranted. Seventy-nine patients (99%) were followed up at 6 weeks, 78 (98%) at 12 weeks, 74 (93%) at 6 months, and 73 (91%) at 12 months. The dry-needling and exercise intervention was more effective than sham dry-needling and exercise in reducing disability at 6 and 12 months but not at 6 and 12 weeks. The treatment effects were small and not clinically worthwhile. At 6 weeks, the treatment effect on the 0-100 NDI was -0.3 (95% confidence interval -5.4 to 4.7), 12 weeks -0.3 (-5.2 to 4.9), 6 months -4.4 (-9.6 to -0.74), and 12 months -3.8 (-9.1 to -0.5). There was no effect for self-rated recovery. In patients with chronic WAD, dry-needling and exercise has no clinically worthwhile effects over sham dry-needling and exercise.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dry-needling and exercise for chronic whiplash-associated disorders

Sterling

Vicenzino

Souvlis

et al. 2015

Pain

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“…Acupuncture was found to significantly reduce pain intensity while improving functional mobility, and health-related quality of life. (50,51) Finally, three reviews considered the effects of acupuncture on a wide variety of chronic pain syndromes. (52)(53)(54) Risks Mild adverse events (e.g.…”

Section: Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

Complementary and alternative medicine therapies for chronic pain

Bauer

Tilburt

Sood

et al. 2016

Chin. J. Integr. Med.

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Pain afflflicts over 50 million people in the US, with 30.7% US adults suffering with chronic pain. Despite advances in therapies, many patients will continue to deal with ongoing symptoms that are not fully addressed by the best conventional medicine has to offer them. The patients frequently turn to therapies outside the usual purview of conventional medicine (herbs, acupuncture, meditation, etc.) called complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Academic and governmental groups are also starting to incorporate CAM recommendations into chronic pain management strategies. Thus, for any physician who care for patients with chronic pain, having some familiarity with these therapies-including risks and benefits-will be key to helping guide patients in making evidence-based, well informed decisions about whether or not to use such therapies. On the other hand, if a CAM therapy has evidence of both safety and efficacy then not making it available to a patient who is suffering does not meet the need of the patient. We summarize the current evidence of a wide variety of CAM modalities that have potential for helping patients with chronic pain in this article. The triad of chronic pain symptoms, ready access to information on the internet, and growing patient empowerment suggest that CAM therapies will remain a consistent part of the healthcare of patients dealing with chronic pain.

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“…Acute WAD injuries are treated with education regarding early physical activity and mobilization, with specific exercises to help with movement and strength in injured regions [12][13][14]. Similarly, other complementary or alternative treatments are also commonly used by physiotherapists within regular clinical practice to treat WAD [15], such as acupuncture (primarily Western medical acupuncture) [16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Indeed the current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines recommended acupuncture treatment for non-specific neck pain (within 4-12 weeks of injury) [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acupuncture for whiplash-associated disorder following road traffic collision: a physiotherapy service evaluation

Stuart

Armstrong

Sewell³

et al. 2020

Acupunct Med

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Background: Whiplash-associated disorder (WAD) is a common musculoskeletal condition that frequently occurs following a road traffic collision. Physiotherapy is often prescribed to help with the symptoms and injuries. Research evidence has demonstrated that acupuncture may be beneficial, but no studies have examined the routine clinical use of acupuncture by physiotherapists for treatment of WAD. Therefore, a physiotherapy service evaluation was conducted to examine the effects of acupuncture on WAD following a road traffic collision. Methods: This study involved 87 patients who attended a private physiotherapy practice following a road traffic collision after referral by their solicitor as part of a personal injury claim. Patients were included if they had been diagnosed with WAD (grades I–III) and received acupuncture as part of their treatment. An average of three sessions of acupuncture were received, which primarily involved needling of traditional acupuncture points and/or myofascial trigger points of the neck and upper/lower back. Results: Pain significantly reduced ( p < 0.001). Musculoskeletal outcome measures including neck disability index, Oswestry low back pain scale and Quick disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (Quick-DASH) scale also significantly improved (all p < 0.001). Adverse events were minor. The majority of the patients (n = 66) were able to return to full-work duties following treatment. Conclusion: Acupuncture appears to be an effective clinical treatment for WAD following a road traffic collision and should be considered by physiotherapists working with such patient groups.

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Acupuncture for Treating Whiplash Associated Disorder: A Systematic Review of Randomised Clinical Trials

Cited by 13 publications

References 28 publications

Dry-needling and exercise for chronic whiplash-associated disorders

Dry-needling and exercise for chronic whiplash-associated disorders

Complementary and alternative medicine therapies for chronic pain

Acupuncture for whiplash-associated disorder following road traffic collision: a physiotherapy service evaluation

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